PENGUINS vs PHANTOMS – MARCH 8, 2017

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins return home for the first time since February 14 this Wednesday night, and they’ll be facing off with the same opponent they saw that evening as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms come to town.

The Phantoms are 2-2-1-0 in their past five contests, a sting which includes an overtime loss to the Penguins on February 25 in Allentown.

The Penguins are coming off of a seven-game road swing and a 6-3 win over the Hartford WolfPack on Sunday afternoon. The two teams are separated by just six points in the Atlantic Division standings.

Wednesday night’s game is the fifth of 12 meetings between the clubs this year, with the Penguins holding a 3-2-0-0 advantage in the season series.

WHO’S HOT:T.J. BRENNAN had a six-game point streak snapped on Sunday when the Phantoms fell to the Providence Bruins, but the AHL vet had recorded 10 points (4+6) in that span of a half dozen games, including a hat trick against Utica on February 19. That was Brennan’s first multi-goal game of the season. His 17 goals are tops among AHL defensemen.

NEWS AND NOTES:Former Penguins CHRIS CONNER has points in each of the Phantoms’ past seven games (4+5=9) and is eight points shy of his career high of 56 points, set as a member of the Penguins in 2009-10…Conner and Brennan are tied for sixth in the AHL with 48 points…GREG CAREY is second in the AHL with 26 goals this season, one behind Chicago’s WADE MEGAN. His 17 power play goals are tops in the league…Goaltender ALEX LYON leads all rookie puck stoppers with 22 wins and is second with 2100:58 minutes played. His victory total is tied for third among all goalies, one behind the Pens’ TRISTAN JARRY…LEHIGHVALLEY’s 22.7 power play percentage (63 for 278) is fifth in the league

ABOUT THE PENGUINS

RECORD

39-16-3-0 (81 pts) | First in Atlantic Division

TEAM LEADERS

GOALS

Tom Kostopoulos

20

ASSISTS

Kevin Porter

28

POINTS

Tom Kostopoulos

44

PIM

Tom Sestito

121

WINS

Tristan Jarry

23

GAA

Tristan Jarry

2.27

WHO’S HOT:DOMINIK SIMON has points in four of his past five games (1+5=6) and nine points (3+6) in his past nine contests. He has five assists in his past four games, and has eclipsed his assist total from last season (26 to 23) in 13 fewer games played. His 26 assists are third on the team behind DAVID WARSOFSKY (27) and KEVIN PORTER (28).

NEWS AND NOTES: Goaltender TRISTAN JARRY is second in the AHL with 23 wins, two behind Ontario’s JACK CAMPBELL, but the Penguins netminder has appeared in six fewer games than his California counterpart (42 to 36)…Jarry’s next appearance will be his 70th regular season game with the Penguins, snapping a tie with DANY SABOURIN for 10th place on the team’s all-time list amongst goalies. His 40 career wins are seventh all-time in Penguins history, two behind JEFF DROUIN-DESLAURIERS…DAVID WARSOFSKY’S 14 goals are tied for second among AHL blueliners, his 27 assists are seventh, and his 41 points are third. His plus-29 rating is tied for first among all league skaters with San Diego’s JAYCOB MEGNA…The PENGUINS penalty kill continues to hold the top spot in the AHL with an 86.5 success rate (205 of 237)